Archives for August 2023

Bayer Leverkusen have signed Matej Kovar from Manchester United – despite the goalkeeper initially refusing to leave Old Trafford.

Kovar, 23, has completed a £7.7million switch to Germany and signed a four-year contract. It ends the stopper’s five-year spell with United, in which he failed to make a first-team appearance. He did play five games in the EFL Trophy, however.

United’s football director John Murtough will be glad to conclude the sale after Kovar decided against a return to Sparta Prague. The goalkeeper spent last season on loan with Sparta, playing 32 games and winning the Czech First League title.

Kovar, who has represented the Czech Republic at youth level, joined United’s academy in 2018. He spent time on loan at Swindon and Burton, making 24 League One appearances across those two spells. He made United’s first-team bench four times.

Kovar’s move to Leverkusen was confirmed on Tuesday morning. “Hello Bayer Leverkusen fans,” he said in a social media video. “Looking forward to seeing you here in the Bayer Arena. I’m pleased the deal has been signed… thank you very much.”

Leverkusen’s managing director of sport Simon Rolfes added: “Matej is a player with great prospects from whom we have high hopes in the coming years.”

United boss Erik ten Hag has witnessed an overhaul of his goalkeeping department this summer. Kovar, David de Gea and Nathan Bishop have all left Old Trafford, while Dean Henderson and Tom Heaton could also depart before the end of the transfer window. Andre Onana has arrived from Inter Milan to become United’s new first-choice goalkeeper.

Getty Images)

Are you disappointed to see Matej Kovar leave Manchester United? Let us know in the comments below!

It was initially hoped that Kovar would return to Sparta, but he dashed the Czech club’s hopes last month. The goalkeeper wrote on social media: “Hello Sparta. This is the day my tenure in Sparta ends. I am very glad I could be part of the biggest club in the Czech Republic and help the team win the title after a long wait (nine years).

“Grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a great team and club. With this message I’d like to thank everyone in the club. From the club management down to the players, coaches and all Sparta employees.

“Even though my tenure only lasted 10 months, I already know that I can call this place home and it will always be in my heart. Although this story ends, the memories last forever.

“Last but not least, I would like to thank the fans. I will always remember the support I felt from the first game till today. It was a ride none of us will forget. As I say goodbye to you today, I’m incredibly proud to have been one of you and helped put Sparta back where it belongs. Thanks for everything Sparta I will never forget.”

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The Big Picture

Superheroes often have a sense of humor. Spider-Man is a great example of a hero that loves witty jokes and is known to use his sense of humor against his enemies. Batman is dark, brooding, and dramatic, and most of his films portray him that way, but he still finds moments of levity when dealing with his eclectic rouges’ gallery. The key to a great superhero film is to maintain the balance between serious tension and humor, and DC films have been massively out of balance recently. With Blue Beetle coming out soon, and the DC reboot coming shortly after with James Gunn at the helm, it’s more important than ever that they get that balance right. They’re headed down the same path that Thor: Love and Thunder did by making too many jokes that diminish the plot’s conflict, and Warner Bros. needs to turn that around in their upcoming projects.

Recent DC Films Like ‘Black Adam’ and ‘The Flash’ Make Jokes at the Wrong Time

One of the main problems with DC’s attempts at humor is that it often tries to shoehorn jokes at completely inappropriate times that strip the moments of any tension. Black Adam has many examples of awkward jokes in a film that is supposed to be about one of the darkest, most threatening villains in the DC universe. Another example of overindulging in humor is how they reduce the hero Atom Smasher to a bumbling giant. For a film centered on one of the greatest and most powerful villains in DC comics, the amount of jokes seem forced and unnecessary.

Shazam! is one DC film that has a great balance of humor and conflict. Since Billy Batson (Asher Angel) was only 14 when this movie took place, his playful, naive attitude when he transforms into Shazam (Zachary Levi) makes sense. Nearly three years pass between the first film and Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and while it’s clear that Billy has grown up and takes his role as a leader very seriously, Levi’s performance as Shazam hasn’t matured in the slightest. The amount of jokes go completely overboard at times when the film should be building tension in the conflict. While Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) helps balance the drama with his sarcastic personality in first film, his dialogue is a non-stop stream of bloviating to deflect from his fear and sadness in the sequel. While this is a movie that appeals to both older and younger audiences and therefore the humor is expected to be a little cornier and immature, there are far too many jokes in Fury of the Gods to make the stakes in this film as significant as they should be.

DC’s biggest mistake with the comedic elements of a superhero film came in their most recent release, The Flash. This film consistently destroyed any of the tension they were trying to build with Barry (Ezra Miller) spouting nervous jokes or something ridiculous happening in slow motion. Almost a dozen babies, a nurse, and a dog fall from hospital windows many floors up, but every moment he’s rescuing the CGI babies is treated as a joke. The younger version of Barry being portrayed as a careless student with the personality of a stoner is an insult to the budding genius he was as a child. It’s as if Barry having his mom (Maribel Verdú) in his life enabled him to be lazy, so he lost his desire to learn. Young Barry’s overuse of humor grates on Barry’s nerves so much that, shortly after meeting him, he realizes that his silly ramblings are as annoying as everyone tells him. If Barry was able to see how annoying his younger self was, it’s easy to imagine how annoying audiences found both Barrys.

The Humor Only Works in DC Films Directed by James Gunn

DC films have a lot to learn about how to balance humor and heroism, but they have succeeded at this a couple times. The reboot of Suicide Squad uses the diverse personalities of the team to bring many styles of comedy to the film. This movie also strikes a great balance between using humor and building tension. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) is on her own adventure for most of the movie and, much like her Joker (Jared Leto), she uses dark humor as often as she uses violence to survive. Peacemaker (John Cena) provides some of the best comedy in the film because he is so serious about his contradictory goal of using extreme violence to bring peace. The character proves to have a lot more depth in the spin-off series Peacemaker which became a smash hit on HBO Max and has a second season in the works. The common thread with these projects is that Gunn directed both, and that’s why so many are optimistic about his takeover of the DC cinematic universe.

Warner Bros had been looking for someone to oversee all DC projects the same way that Kevin Feige is in charge of all the Marvel projects. Since Gunn accepted the job, he’s made many announcements about his plans moving forward, and there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic. The biggest focus for most fans right now is on the first film of the DC reboot, Superman: Legacy, which Gunn will direct himself. Many ardent fans of the vision Zack Snyder presented of Superman (Henry Cavill) are skeptical, but the fans of the comic book version that represented the hope and goodness of humanity are grateful to be moving past that bleak, mistrusting portrayal. Gunn recently announced casting the two leads in the film, with Superman being played by David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan in the role of Lois Lane. He confirmed the rumor by emphasizing that they’re wonderful people, which could be an attempt to reassure fans that there won’t be any controversy to worry about like there was with Ezra Miller. Gunn’s track record with superhero films is as impressive as Superman’s strength, and that’s why so many have high hopes for his DC vision.

Superhero Jokes Don’t Always Land the Punchline

Superhero movies should definitely use humor that reflects the hero’s personality, but they shouldn’t force it so often that it negates any of the dramatic tension of the conflict. In order for the audience to be invested in the hero’s struggle, there needs to be high stakes involved with the success or failure of their efforts. With Suicide Squad, Gunn was able to bring a lot of character development to each of the team members through their dramatic backstories and the ways they use humor to cope with their past traumas. His ability to use comedy as one of many aspects in showing a character’s growth is a direct contrast to the recent DC films that made their characters shallow by overusing humor. Superheroes have humor, but they’re not comedians. They are meant to represent the best of humanity, and teach us how to be better people and face our struggles with courage and integrity. If everything is funny to the hero in a film, the struggle never feels that significant to the audience. Hopefully, Blue Beetle doesn’t follow the same path as previous DC films. Regardless of how well that film strikes a balance between the drama and comedy, Superman: Legacy is right around the corner, and there are a lot of reasons to have hope for DC films in the future.

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Ever since I was a child, I had always dreamed of having a family. A good man who loves me and eventually our children. After my wedding to Brian, I was one step away from that dream. We loved each other, and we were so eager to become parents that we didn’t waste any time. A few months after our wedding I was already pregnant and throughout the journey, I was so excited. Despite the morning sickness, fatigue and cravings I couldn’t wait to hold my baby.  

Brian and I had attended all the clinical checkups together, decorated the baby’s room and planned my days accordingly. By the seventh month, we had already known which day I was supposed to go to the hospital. Normally you don’t know what to expect during your pregnancy journey, but Brian had made it easier. He was always involved and concerned about my well-being.   

My due date was supposed to be in the second week of December but ended up being delayed to the third week. My family could not travel to Nairobi which was understandable since it was almost Christmas. Luckily, I knew that at least I had Brian. By the 24th I had checked into the hospital and the contractions had started. Since this was my first pregnancy the contractions were intense and to make matters worse, I started vomiting.   

Although I knew my mum wasn’t able to be around, I still felt the need to talk to her at that moment. Brian, who was holding my phone, called her and put her on the loudspeaker as he held my hand. She helped to take my mind off the pain although it was still on and off. One of the nurses also encouraged me to take small sips of water.  

Brian stepped out of the room after a while to make a phone call which I didn’t pay much attention to. When he came back, I felt a sudden shift of energy. I figured maybe the call didn’t go well but after he walked to the other side of the room I got concerned.  

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.  

“Nothing,” He mumbled before going silent on me.  

I was surprised since Brian had never given me the cold shoulder before and why today of all days?  

“Seriously what’s wrong? Why are you over there? At least come hold my hand or rub my belly. I am in pain,” I said to him.  

“Nothing, it’s not important,” He replied.  

Eventually, they moved me to my official room. I was still in pain and wondering why my husband was acting weird all of a sudden. We planned for this baby and went through the pregnancy period together peacefully. All through the move he was distant.  

Once we got to the room, I realized I didn’t have the time to deal with Brian’s mood swings. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and nobody was going to ruin it for me. I had a feeling it was something he had seen on my phone. I never hid anything from him which is why this moment was weird to me.   

Anyway, I reminded myself that when you are searching for something regardless of whether it’s there or not you will make nothing into something. When the time came for me to deliver the baby, he put aside his mood and supported me. I accepted his encouragement since this was a heavy moment, but it still felt fake.   

My little girl was finally placed on my chest, and I was so overwhelmed with joy. However, this was not how I expected the moment would feel. Brian was so happy, but it felt as if we were co-parents having two different experiences with our baby. Not a husband and a wife celebrating the beginning of their little family.   

Since the next day is usually counted as day one, we shared a room that night. He slept on the couch, and I was on the bed, and everything just felt so wrong. I had envisioned that he would be beside me as we basked in the moment of having our first baby. The following day my mum surprised me which made me feel better. Brian decided to give us privacy, but I knew he had gone back to being in his feelings.   

When I was finally discharged my mum called an Uber to take us home. The whole ride home I was wondering where Brian was. I expected to find him waiting for me outside holding flowers and ready to take us home. What was supposed to be the second happiest day of my life was ruined by the man I called the love of my life.   

When we got home Brian wasn’t even there, which made matters worse. I had decided to keep the events of the past two days a secret from our families, so I didn’t react. Eventually, when he came home, we all had dinner and when we got to our room, I raised the issue.   

“Brian what’s wrong don’t tell me it’s nothing,” I said.  

“I just don’t want to talk about it since I don’t want to ruin your moment,” He responded.  

We gave each other the silent treatment for the rest of the week since I was going through so much to deal with his drama. The following week my mum finally travelled back home, and he finally opened up with a lie. He claimed that the reason he gave me the cold shoulder was that one of my coworkers had been commenting on my posts with love emojis. I wasn’t shocked because Brian had moments of jealousy, but I had never responded to those comments.  

To make matters worse why would he choose the day I was giving birth to go through my Instagram? This led me to believe that wasn’t the real reason he was upset that day, but I accepted it and we moved on. A few days later as I was going through my block list, I noticed an account I didn’t recognize. Normally the people I block are those scam pages and the people I cut off from my life.  

I unblocked her and went through the messages. She had sent me paragraphs talking about her sexual relationship with Brian. The two had been having sex while I was pregnant. So, I put two and two together and realized while I was in labour, he was covering up his tracks. When I confronted him about it, he denied it even though I had proof. Later I realized the woman was his mum’s best friend which made the story even more disturbing. Throughout the divorce process, all I could think about was how my little fantasy had been destroyed. All because my husband couldn’t keep his temptation at bay. 

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